Thursday, June 30, 2005

OK, we need to admit it. We're totally vulnerable. There are Iraqis and others at our porous borders, we have surveillance equipment that doesn't work, there are illegal foreigners whose whereabouts and movements are unknown and criminals can access our most secured facilities seemingly with no planning. Why am I forced to remove my shoes and be wanded and x-rayed at the airport when a thief in a pickup can drive out on the tarmac with impunity?Is this the way to conduct a war? How many warnings can providence provide before we take heed and avoid catastrophe?Those who have taken the responsibility for shoring up our defenses need to be held accountable. No one seems to lose their job for failing to do their job. Who is watching the store?

The driver of a suspected stolen truck led police on a chase on the tarmac of a major US airport, weaving dramatically between moving planes after breaching airfield securityThe bizarre intrusion at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix in the southwestern state of Arizona ended after the vehicle crashed through two chain link perimeter fences before grinding to a halt, allowing police to arrest the driver at gunpoint.Airport spokeswoman Deborah Ostreicher said that traffic at the busy hub was interrupted only briefly as police cars pursued the runaway motorist as he races alongside at least two moving passenger jets."There could have been a problem but we're so delighted that there was none. Airport operations were temporarily suspended in the area where he was," Ostreicher told CNN.It was unclear how the driver managed to breach the security perimeter at the airport, which are amongst the most protected strategic sites in the United States following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

I visited the camp of the enemy and found some quotes that I thought were of interest. The ACLU in all its pretentious glory is holding the US government accountable. Now get this, not accountable to the constitution of the US which it is sworn to uphold but rather to some "universally" recognized principles.

Driving to make us bound by international law, rather than our own time tested, proven concepts of justice this insidious group is blatant about its goal. Using terms like "struggle for justice" to cloak itself in respectability, it is betrayed by its actions which reveal it to be an advocate only for socialism and the ultimate destuction of the American way of life.It has made serious inroads, already compromising our judicial system where judges are beginning to use international law as precedent.My ancestors came to this country because the laws that governed them where they lived were inferior to the American system. I do not wish my descendants to be forced to return to that from which their forefathers fled. I will do my best to prevent it from happening on my watch. I ask the same of you.

The following is taken directly from the ACLU web site.Intensifying our efforts to hold the United States government accountable under universally recognized human rights principles, we have hired three full-time advocates to apply human rights strategies to our work on national security issues, immigrants’ rights, women’s rights, and criminal justice."From the grassroots level all the way to the Supreme Court, international human rights law is emerging as an important tool in the struggle for justice here at home," said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson, who is heading up the advocacy effort.

You could have guessed this would happen in California. The logic is, to say the least, unique.

An animal rights group wants the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach to gut its cafeteria menu of fish and seafood, arguing that "serving fish at an aquarium is like serving poodle burgers at a dog show."

"They should be serving exclusively vegetarian food, not just for the health of their patrons but for the animals they contend to be supporting," she said Monday. "They don't sell elephant burgers at the zoo, and they shouldn't be selling fish at aquariums."

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Hagel is such an ass. Is he so stupid not to be able to realize that what he says will be used against him or his party or his president? Did Durbin not know the Arab press was going to plaster his comments all over Islamoland? The mystery is not so much how these guys get elected as it is how they even find their way into work.

"We agree with Senator Hagel when he observes that the Bush Administration's policy in Iraq is 'completely disconnected from reality. ... ' He is a hero for speaking up when few others in either party have.

"Unfortunately, he is mistaken when he says our TV ad calls for 'immediate withdrawal.' We have never held this position. What we want is a date to begin a responsible, phased exit of our troops from Iraq. We support a new and growing bi-partisan effort to set such a date led by Representatives Walter Jones and Neil Abercrombie in the US House of Representatives.

Thank you Representative Beauprez for your righteous anger. It's a shame that my representative, Kolbe, can't muster the same emotion. He has, for too long, catered to the Mexican government but I am hoping that soon we will replace him with someone who reflects the will of the people. I will be working and donating toward that outcome and Kolbe will be hearing from me regarding his latest betrayal. For those of you who wish to join me, you may contact Kolbe here.And my last question is why are we not investing that money on our side of the border instead of lining the pockets of corruption in Mexico? What kind of accounting do they give us to show how the money is spent? LOL

The House of Representatives sent a stern message to Mexico on Tuesday night, voting to block $66 million in U.S. aid if the country does not extradite suspected cop-killers without strings attached.

Angered by the killing of Denver Police Detective Donald Young, the House voted 327-98 to approve an amendment offered by Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Arvada, to a foreign operations spending bill.

It calls for cutting off U.S. aid to any country that fails to extradite suspects in the killing of federal, state or local law enforcement officers.

Beauprez said it applies to Mexico because, based on a ruling of the country's supreme court, it will not extradite suspects if they could face the death penalty or life without possibility of parole in the United States.

Beauprez is upset that Mexico's restrictions forced prosecutors to avoid first-degree murder charges against Raul Gomez-Garcia, who is being held in a Mexican prison in connection with the May 8 killing of Young.

Instead, Gomez-Garcia was charged with second-degree murder in Young's death, and attempted first-degree murder of Denver police Detective John "Jack" Bishop. They were working off-duty but in uniform at a baptismal party May 8 when they were shot.

"A 3-1 margin sends a pretty clear message - that's not a partisan vote," Beauprez said after his victory. "This is not an anti-Mexico vote. It's simply a statement about living within the boundaries of your extradition treaties.

"I think the House said very loudly tonight, when you have something as egregious as a murder of a police officer, send them home so justice can be served."

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, a Democrat, has been working with U.S. and Mexican officials to seek Gomez-Garcia's extradition.

Mexican officials have said they are cooperating, but that it could take one to three years before they work through their internal processes and decide whether to extradite Gomez-Garcia.

A spokeswoman for Morrissey could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

On the day Beauprez announced his legislation earlier this month, Morrissey sent a strongly worded letter to members of the Colorado congressional delegation raising "serious concerns" that statements appearing to pressure Mexican officials could hamper extradition efforts.

"Comments that appear disrespectful of Mexican law or appear to be attempts to pressure Mexican officials in some way are not helpful," Morrissey wrote.

Some other Democrats also criticized Beauprez's statement in a Rocky Mountain News interview about the possible one- to three- year delay: "I've vacationed in Mexico before. I know exactly what Mexican time is."

That's because much of the U.S. aid goes to Mexican law enforcement and drug-interdiction efforts to stem the flow of narcotics across the U.S.-Mexican border.

"(It is) based on the wrong assumption that U.S. foreign assistance to Mexico is only in Mexico's national interest," Kolbe said. "The funding (Beauprez is) prohibiting is in the United States' interest. All of these funds are essential to the U.S. national interest."

Beauprez spokesman Jordan Stoick called the argument ironic.

"The congressman believes that bringing cop-killers to justice is a higher priority," Stoick said. "It's cruelly ironic that this money is used to assist Mexican law enforcement. We're essentially subsidizing their denial of justice."

The vote included an unusual split in Colorado's congressional delegation after Rep. John Salazar, a Manassa Democrat, initially voted "no" but switched at the last minute to join Republican Reps. Beauprez, Joel Hefley, Marilyn Musgrave and Tom Tancredo in the "yes" column. The delegation's other two Democrats, Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, and Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, were opposed.

"He made a procedural mistake and voted 'no,' and he wanted to make sure people know how he stands on the issue and voted 'yes,' " Salazar spokeswoman Nayyera Haq said.

Salazar, who represents a Republican-leaning district, was attacked on immigration-related issues during his 2002 election campaign. He has often voted with the GOP majority during his first six months in office.

"He firmly believes we want to bring justice and make sure cop-killers don't go free," Haq said. "If we have to force their hand to bring this guy to justice, that's what we have to do."

The UN is a liberal outpost that has a love affair with the democrat party. The conflict of interest is phenomenal. However, the part I love most of all is they are going to investigate themselves. Deja vu, all over again.

Staffers at the United Nations Development Program have demanded that the agency's outgoing administrator, Mark Malloch Brown, fire an employee who they say has violated rules designed to assure the world body's neutrality by working for the Democratic presidential campaign.According to the UNDP employees who wrote the letter - saying their anonymity should be protected as whistle blowers - the agency "has earned the dubious reputation as a Democratic political outpost." Violating U.N. rules designed to ensure political neutrality endangers all U.N. workers, they claim. "Continuing complicity and inaction on your part will maintain a precedent encouraging more staff members to interfere in a partisan manner at all levels of politics in member states."

Mr. Leites's stint with the Kerry-Edwards campaign in his home state of Maine last year violated staff rules, the authors say. Taking leave to work for an American political campaign "has projected UNDP into the center of the sort of acrimonious Democratic-Republican debate that characterized the bitterly fought 2004 presidential election," the letter read.

The Irish have moved into first place in the politically correct idiocy race. These morons don't have a brain to share among them.

'Brainstorming', the buzzword used by executives to generate ideas among their staff, has been deemed politically incorrect by civil servants because it is thought to be offensive to people with brain disorders.

Instead staff at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) in Belfast will use the term 'thought-showers' when they get together to think creatively. A spokeswoman said: 'The DETI does not use the term brainstorming on its training courses on the grounds that it may be deemed pejorative.'

Sources inside the department said there was concern that the term would cause offence to people with epilepsy as well those with brain tumours or brain injuries.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Why, when we are fighting a war for our very existence do we have to bend over backwards to accommodate foreigners? Is their convenience worth us making just one mistake that could jeopardize lives of thousands of our own citizens? I say no, not in any way, shape or fashion. I am not the least bit concerned about Americans being delayed or inconvenienced so why do I give a tinker's dam about alien sensitivity? There are no "trusted travelers", no one is above suspicion. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Liberals who objected to the passage of the Real ID Act of 2005 two months ago will be happy to know that federal immigration officials have uncovered twelve illegal aliens who managed to obtain licenses to transport hazardous materials thanks to lax standards under the old system.

In one case, a man from the terrorist hotbed of Pakistan - who had been ordered to leave the U.S. nine years ago - was found to be driving a tanker truck filled with gasoline for Exxon, the Knight Ridder news service said.

VANCOUVER -- Transport Canada has launched an investigation into Sunday's security snafu at Vancouver's airport that caused lengthy delays after a passenger boarded a Toronto-bound plane without being screened.

In Ottawa, Transport Minister Jean Lapierre said he wants to know how the man evaded the preboarding screening, apparently because of a misunderstanding with an employee of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the federal agency that oversees airport security in Canada.

"Somebody walked by the system," Mr. Lapierre said outside the House of Commons.

Despite Transport Canada's promise to get to the bottom of the matter, the breach reveals gaps in Canada's three-year-old agency responsible for airport security.

It also raises questions about the speed with which authorities at Vancouver's airport responded to the security alert.

Now, I want to remind you of something. This was the same crew that lost about 1000 airport security uniforms and badges last year. Some of the missing items were discovered on ebay.

This also is the same guy who is fighting to keep Washington from having access to passenger lists for Canada's domestic flights. Lapierre said he may have to re-route them (around U.S. airspace) rather than breach the privacy rights of domestic Canadian passengers.

In plans which are not yet finalized, Washington recently warned Canada (and other countries) the U.S. intends to require that its no-fly list procedures apply to all foreign airlines which pass through U.S. airspace. After 9/11, a watch list of suspected terrorists was created by the U.S. that bars those on the list from air travel within its borders.

Lapierre said it's a “very hot issue,” and that he’s working to protect the privacy of Canadians.

“I’m very worried about it. We don’t think it’s a good idea that Canadians travelling from one (Canadian) city to another would have to be checked under the American no-fly list.”

I rest my case. Is there any reason to think that Canada's Inspector Clouseau should be left in charge of security that could impact our airspace?

Are you ready to be sick, then read this. The leftist turncoats are using Chuck Hagel's encouragement to bring defeat and shame to America. And don't forget who also loves to rally with MoveOn: Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Teddy Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Robert Byrd and Chuck Schumer. How's that for a litany of leftist lunatics.

MoveOn PAC Executive Director Eli Pariser and MoveOn PAC Campaign Director Tom Matzzie will join former Congressman and National Director of Win Without War Tom Andrews to unveil two hard-hitting ads on Tuesday morning with the message: We got into Iraq the wrong way ... let's get out the right way.

The $500,000 TV and print ad buys are scheduled to begin shortly before the President delivers a prime time address to the American people in an attempt to resuscitate sinking public support for his Iraq policy.

Last week, Bush senior advisor Karl Rove and White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett attacked the 3.3 million member grassroots organization in an attempt to divert attention from escalating American casualties in Iraq, mounting domestic opposition to the war, and the President's declining approval ratings.

Copies of the ads will be made available at the press conference. A script of the ad is below.

WHO:

-- Eli Pariser, executive director, MoveOn PAC

-- Tom Matzzie, Washington director, MoveOn PAC

-- Tom Andrews, former Congressman, national director, Win Without War

AUDIO: ANNOUNCER (VO): The war in Iraq. Day 825. 1,725 Americans dead. It's a quagmire.

VIDEO: SLOW DISSOLVE FROM WAR IMAGES TO A PHOTO OF PRESIDENT BUSH. THE TEXT OF BUSH'S QUOTE BEGINS TO APPEAR AS THE BUSH PHOTO COMES INTO FULL VIEW: "I BELIEVE WE'RE MAKING REALLY GOOD PROGRESS IN IRAQ" - GEORGE BUSH, APRIL 28, 2005. THE IMAGE IS NOW ROSE-TINTED AS WE START TO MOVE IN TIGHT ON BUSH'S THUMB.

AUDIO: ANNOUNCER (VO): But George Bush says he's pleased with the progress.

VIDEO: WE ARE NOW ON A CLOSE-UP OF BUSH'S THUMB.

AUDIO: ANNOUNCER: (VO): Pleased? Now even a REPUBLICAN Senator, Chuck Hagel, is saying:

VIDEO: SPLIT SCREEN WITH ROSE-TINTED PHOTO OF WHITE HOUSE ON LEFT AND IMAGES OF WAR IN IRAQ ON RIGHT. THE TEXT OF HAGEL'S QUOTE IS SUPERED ACROSS BOTH IMAGES: "THE WHITE HOUSE IS COMPLETELY DISCONNECTED FROM REALITY" - REPUBLICAN SEN. CHUCK HAGEL.

AUDIO: ANNOUNCER (VO): The White House is completely disconnected from reality.

VIDEO: SPLIT SCREEN IMAGERY REMAINS AS THE TEXT OF HAGEL'S QUOTE CONTINUES: "IT'S LIKE THEY'RE JUST MAKING IT UP AS THEY GO ALONG."

AUDIO: ANNOUNCER (VO): It's like they're just making it up as they go along.

VIDEO: CUT TO IMAGE OF A SOLDIER'S HELMET FILLED WITH UNOPENED LETTERS FROM BACK HOME IN THE USA. SUPER TEXT: IT'S TIME TO COME HOME.

AUDIO: ANNOUNCER (VO): Iraq. We got in the wrong way. Let's get out the right way.

VIDEO: AT SCREEN BOTTOM, SUPER "PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC, www.moveonpac.org. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Moveon PAC is responsible for the content of this ADVERTISEMENT."

AUDIO: ANNOUNCER (VO): MoveOn PAC is responsible for the content of this advertisement

This gotcha sound bite game must stop. Now some liberal Democrats are calling for Rove to resign. How about everybody resigning? We can start over and rebuild the government the way the founders intended. If that’s not going to happen, can we please lay off this childish rhetorical back-and-forth and get back to killing insurgents and capturing terrorists?

Is this a positive sign? No amnesty but securing the borders is the way to go. I'll believe it when I see it but thanks to the Minutemen things are happening. Don't fail to notice though, this is a US Senator admitting the border is too dangerous for civilians. Whose fault is that Senator?

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) today urged the civilian "Minuteman" border patrol organization not to begin operation along the Texas-Mexico border in October as planned, expressing concern that the group's activities could do more harm than good.

"I would hope that everybody who is concerned about the porous nature of our borders would allow the federal government to act," Cornyn told 1200 WOAI news this morning.

Cornyn said he is preparing to introduce a comprehensive immigration control measure along with Senator John Kyl (R-Arizona) next month. He said he hopes many of the measure included in that bill will address the concerns the Minutemen have been raising.

Cornyn stressed that his proposal, which is expected to reach President Bush's desk by the end of the year, will not include an amnesty for people already in this country illegally.

"What I worry about is if civilians step in, there will be an unexpected conflict, there will be some incident where somebody could get hurt."

He cited the danger posed by drug traffickers, traffickers in illegal immigrants, and violent syndicates like the MS-13 organization.

A 22-stone thief was caught after he got stuck in a window after stuffing his face with pies during a shop raid.

The man stole £250 after breaking into the shop, near Fagaras in Romania, and could not resist helping himself to the pies.

But the 29-year-old got wedged in the window as he tried to get back out, and was still stuck there in the morning when shop owner Vasile Mandache arrived for work.

He said: "I saw all the pie wrappers on the floor, and then I looked up and saw a pair of stubby fat legs hanging out the window.

"I went outside and saw the other half of the thief poking at the front. I just had to burst out laughing and called all my friends to come and have a look before we called the police, it was so funny."

Monday, June 27, 2005

Is anyone besides me tired of the stupidity of judging people in history by modern standards? How absolutely ignorant do you have to be to do that?Considering the social, political and cultural environment Lincoln came out of he achieved greatness because in many ways he superceded his time in history.I would note, that many of those who mock the shortcomings of those who have gone before them, use the excuse of their own environment and historical constraints to excuse their own failings and limitations. What a self-righteous bunch of hypocrites.Obama has a great future with the pompous, all knowing and sanctimonious left. The one plus side is, I believe his footnote in history will be so insignificant no one will bother to hold him to the standard he uses to measure others.

Sen. Barack Obama sees parallels between Abraham Lincoln's life and his own, but he says the nation's 16th president might not have envisioned a black man occupying the seat he now holds.

"I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator," Obama said. "As a law professor and civil rights lawyer and as an African-American, I am fully aware of his limited views on race. Anyone who actually reads the Emancipation Proclamation knows it was more a military document than a clarion call for justice."

It just makes my day when the ACLU loses. At last we got a common sense ruling.

Louisiana's abstinence program has not violated a court order with its religious content, a federal judge ruled this week. The Governor's Program on Abstinence has religious references on its Web site as well as links to other sites that promote prayer and repentance, but these references do not constitute an excessive entanglement between government and religion, U.S. District Court Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. ruled Thursday. Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, a Democrat, did not comment, but had previously defended the Web site as offering constitutionally protected "discussion of religious issues." The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has twice brought the state abstinence program to court, said it was "disconcerted" by Judge Porteous' ruling. "If telling kids that abstaining from sex will bring them closer to God isn't religion, I don't know what is," Joe Cook, executive director of the ACLU in Louisiana, said after Thursday's ruling. In May, the ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal court in Boston against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over its funding of another abstinence program. The Silver Ring Thing program, which has won more than $1 million from the federal government, "urges students to commit themselves to Christ," said lawyer Julie Steinberg, who is employed by the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project. This shouldn't be done with taxpayer dollars, she said. Last week, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a conservative legal-defense group based in Scottsdale, Ariz., filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of the Silver Ring Thing. The Pennsylvania-based abstinence program, which encourages teens to sign a virginity pledge and wear a silver ring in honor of their promise, "has abided by all the federal requirements." "None of the funding is used for religious indoctrination," said ADF lawyer Joel Oster.

The days of the UN getting whatever it wants from the USA are ebbing away. With scandal piling upon scandal and an intractable Kofi Annan mismanaging his way to infamy, no one is going to condone throwing good money after bad.

The defeat in Albany of the United Nations' attempt at a land grab in Turtle Bay presents an opportunity for the city, state, and federal governments - and the United Nations itself - to rethink the logic of its remaining in New York at all. "They need to go to Plan B," is the way it was characterized by Senator Elizabeth Krueger, one of those who represent the East Side in Albany. Decamping New York may not be what Ms. Krueger had in mind, but by our lights the best outcome of this fight would be for the world body, which has abandoned the ideals in which Americans originally invested, to vacate its headquarters here altogether and move to, say, the former West German capital of Bonn (which has a lot of office space) or one of the Third World capitals that share its hostility to the things for which America stands.

It's the 10 things I'd do if I were the Commander-In-Chief. I love #6 "The sixth thing I'd do is launch a full-scale investigation into the activities of the ACLU", I understand that, but I may work on my own 10. Anyway, it's a good read.

Ward Churchill is at it again. If he hasn't gone too far this time I don't know what slime hole is left that he has missed.

How sad for us that in the middle of the war that will determine the fate of America and all of Western Civilization, we must entertain the likes of Churchill's vitrol. Does this moron think his Muslim maniac friends would grant him anything close to the freedom of speech he uses to denigrate his own nation? Yet, who is worse? Are not the words of Durbin more dangerous and treasonous since he speaks for the government? God save the republic from villains such as these.

University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill suggested to a forum on conscientious objection they might be more effective in opposing war if they supported the "fragging" or killing of line officers.

In a Portland meeting on resistance to military recruiting, Churchill, famous for comparing Sept. 11, 2001, victims in the World Trade Center to "little Eichmanns," twice suggested anti-war activists should support those who kill their officers. "For those of you who do, as a matter of principle, oppose war in any form, the idea of supporting a conscientious objector who's already been inducted [and] in his combat service in Iraq might have a certain appeal," he said. "But let me ask you this: Would you render the same support to someone who hadn't conscientiously objected, but rather instead rolled a grenade under their line officer in order to neutralize the combat capacity of their unit?"

Later, in a question-and-answer period, Churchill was asked whether the trauma "fragging" inflicts on that officer's family back home should be considered, he responded: "How do you feel about Adolf Eichmann's family?"

Give her hell, George, she needs to be nailed on stuff like this. If she going to no comment on Durbin and Dean,she'd better keep her mouth shut about Rove.

New York Gov. George Pataki read Sen. Hillary Clinton the riot act on Thursday after she demanded that he condemn comments by White House political advisor Karl Rove.

"I think it's a little hypocritical for Sen. Clinton to call on me to repudiate a political figure's comment, when she never asked Sen. Durbin to repudiate his comments," Pataki told reporters, after she complained that he sat idly by as Rove blasted liberals for being soft on terror at a New York Conservative party function Wednesday night.

"She never responded when asked to respond [about Durbin]," Pataki complained. "She never responded to Howard Dean's insult to every single Republican, saying that they never earned an honest day's living.

"She never responded to Sen. Reid's unfair criticism of the president - he called the president a loser and a liar. He's never apologized - she never requested that."

"She never called for an apology or clarification when Moveon.org called for moderation and restraint in response to the terrorist attacks."

Pataki concluded: "So, when she does that, I'll be glad to listen to her call for me to ask someone to apologize."

Saturday, June 25, 2005

I just finished viewing News Watch on Fox and heard Neal Gabler say that Dick Durbin told the truth. I know Fox is trying to show it's fair and balanced by keeping people like Gabler on the dole but this is unacceptable.

Gabler needs to go just like Durbin and I encourage all those who saw the show or have access to the transcript to deluge Fox with public indignation.

Rome: Horses drawing Rome's carriages will be required to wear nappies from next week in an effort to keep the city's streets clean.

The nappies, which are buckets wrapped in nylon and strapped behind the horses, will be mandatory for all of the city's 43 botticelle, as the horse-drawn carriages are known. The move is part of a deal agreed to by city authorities and the guild representing the carriage drivers.

Used by everyday Romans as taxis during the 19th century, the botticelle are popular with visitors, and are usually found around tourist attractions such as St Peter's Basilica, the Forum and the Colosseum. - Deutsche Press Agentur

Friday, June 24, 2005

''A READER living in Moscow," writes National Review's Jay Nordlinger, ''sent me a photo from a rally in Azerbaijan, which showed a youth holding up a poster of President Bush with the words, 'We Want Freedom.' The reader commented, 'It's good to remember whom people turn to when they're desperate -- and it ain't Kofi Annan.' "Indeed. It is fashionable in some circles to invoke the United Nations as the touchstone of moral authority, but realists know better. They look to the United States, not the UN, as the great moral engine in world affairs.

In the previous post I quoted Howard "Daffy" Dean as saying when the donks are elected America will be "the moral authority of the world." Well, Howie, America is the moral authority of the world and that authority comes through not because of equivocating wannabe leaders like you, Durbin, Kennedy and Kerry.In order to have moral authority, you must have moral absolutes that you will not veer from. You and your ilk have amorphous morals, never crystalizing a code of conduct because it might interfere with your nefarious schemes. That is not what America, nor the world wants or needs. The voters keep telling you that, but you turn a deaf ear because the truth is the last thing you hypocrites want to hear.

Do you realize how disturbed and delusional you would have to be to mention Bill Clinton and "moral authority" in any form of equation? When are they going to drop the net on Dean?

Speaking at a Washington, D.C. fundraiser Tuesday night,Howard Dean called Durbin "an extraordinary United States senator, a man of great courage and a man who is willing to stand by our troops and fight for all that is right about America," in quotes picked up by CNSNews.com.Praising ex-president Clinton, Dean predicted that when Democrats "get back in power . . . America will not only be respected around the world, [it] will also be the moral authority of the world."

Senator Kennedy has no shame. Having killed off most of his brain cells through alcohol consumption, he is only able to babble and bluster, stuttering over vague memories of past orations. If anyone should resign, Teddy, it's you.

The nation's top military leaders clashed with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy yesterday, challenging his assertion that the Iraq war has descended into a Vietnam-like "quagmire."At a high-powered Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Vice President Dick Cheney's recent assessment that the insurgency was in its "final throes" seemed to be contradicted by the top general in the region.The Massachusetts Democrat prompted a show of support for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld after the senator again called for his resignation."Secretary Rumsfeld, you know we are in serious trouble in Iraq," Mr. Kennedy said. "This war has been consistently and grossly mismanaged," Mr. Kennedy added. "And we are now in a seemingly intractable quagmire. Our troops are dying, and there really is no end in sight."Mr. Kennedy then listed what he considered a series of misjudgments, such as underestimating the insurgency and failing to provide enough armor, and then asked, "Isn't it time for you to resign?" Mr. Rumsfeld, flanked at the witness table by three four-star generals, rebutted each point. "I will say that the idea that what's happening over there is a quagmire is so fundamentally inconsistent with the facts," he said. "The reality is that they are making political progress without question." Army Gen. George Casey then injected himself into the debate. "As the commander in Iraq, I would like to put myself on the record, Senator Kennedy, as saying that I also agree with the secretary that to represent the situation in Iraq as a quagmire is a misrepresentation of the facts," Gen. Casey said. "Senator, that is not a quagmire."Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, Joint Chiefs chairman, added, "It's clearly not a quagmire. ... The term has been used loosely, and it's not accurate in my estimation." Mr. Rumsfeld's top commander in the region, Army Gen. John Abizaid, then offered his vote of confidence in the secretary."When it comes to toughness and stick-to-itiveness and fighting the enemy the way they need to be fought, I'm standing by the secretary," he said.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Oh Mr. Fox, you seem to have a police problem on top of your crime problem or are they the same? Should we all feel warm and fuzzy about our southern neighbors helping to watch the border? What are they watching for, easier access?

I'm getting really tired of asking when is our government going to act?

Federal authorities Monday charged a police officer from San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., with attempting to smuggle an illegal alien into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.

The Mexican transit police officer, Ramon Chavez-Rodrigues, 31, was charged with encouraging an illegal alien to come to the United States. If convicted, the officer faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine or both.

When questioned by Customs and Border Protection authorities, Chavez-Rodriguez admitted that he was going to be paid $300 for assisting Maria Valladolid-Chavez to enter the United States illegally by using his unmarked police vehicle last week to drive her across the border.

This is unbelievable to me. How many morons do we have in the government? For five years, according to this report, Muslim madmen from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan have been getting easily obtained visas to the United States. Didn't anyone involved in issuing the visas have the common sense to question why this might not be a good idea? Is there some insane suicidal desire on the part of our government officials? What is the problem? We won't secure our borders, we're not very enthusiastic about interrogating terrorist prisoners and now we're clearing the path for the clerics of death to live here.Hello, are there any sane people left out there?

Religious visas allow foreign nationals in religious occupations to enter the United States and work for nonprofit religious organizations.

Generally, the majority of religious visas have gone to Christian ministers. For the past five years, however, scores of Muslim clerics from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan have been let in on religious visas. Once here, many make provocative comments.

Religious visas are easier to obtain than other work-related visas because applicants sponsored by institutions in the United States are afforded religious freedoms that protect them from intense scrutiny.

What were the odds that Hillary and Biden would be against this? The socialist and the plagiarist are two of the reasons this country is in so much trouble. There is no stifling of freedom of speech in protecting the flag, you can say anything you want about it, you just can't desecrate it. How do we expect people throughout the world to respect us when we don't respect ourselves and our symbols.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A constitutional amendment to outlaw flag burning cleared the House Wednesday but faced an uphill battle in the Senate. An informal survey by The Associated Press suggested the measure doesn't have enough Senate votes to pass.

The 286-130 outcome was never in doubt in the House, which had passed the measure or one like it five times in recent years. The amendment's supporters expressed optimism that a Republican gain of four seats in last November's election could produce the two-thirds approval needed in the Senate as well after four failed attempts since 1989.

But an AP survey Wednesday found 35 senators on record as opposing the amendment - one more than the number needed to defeat it if all 100 senators vote, barring a change in position.

Late Wednesday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., revealed that she would vote against the measure. "I don't believe a constitutional amendment is the answer," Clinton, a possible presidential candidate in 2008, said in a statement.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., remained undecided, a spokesman said.

"Ask the men and women who stood on top of the Trade Center," said Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham, R-Calif. "Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment."

The amendment's prospects faded late Wednesday when Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Mark Pryor of Arkansas revealed that they would oppose it.

Possible presidential contenders who have supported the amendment in the past include Evan Bayh, D-Ind., Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and John McCain, R-Ariz.Sen.Joseph Biden, D-Del., a likely presidential candidate, has said he would oppose the amendment.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

I know I'm a day early but when you catch the ACLU with its pants down well, you have to point it out.Hypocrisy abounds and the "cherished" idealism of the pontificating popinjays of the left is cast to the wind.After persecuting organizations for any perceived exclusionary tactics, here they go with prejudice, bigotry and no due process, excluding one of their own. I hope he sues the pants off them and they are banned from the public feeding trough. Maybe some conservative group can defend this man's rights in court.

The ACLU may fight for those holding unpopular beliefs and taking controversial stands, but the ACLU of New Mexico suspended an entire chapter of the organization because a member of the board of directors is leading the state's Minuteman group.

The state organization suspended its Las Cruces chapter after learning that a member of the group's board, Clifford Alford, was heading the formation of a Minuteman group in New Mexico.Gary Mitchell, a Ruidoso attorney and president of the ACLU board of directors, said the suspension of the southern chapter was a technical move to make sure the leader of the New Mexico Minutemen, a civilian border patrol group, no longer had authority to act or speak on behalf of the ACLU.

"We will not tolerate racism and vigilantism in the leadership structure of our organization,'' Mitchell told the Albuquerque Journal. "They are repugnant to the principles of civil liberties and the mission of the ACLU.''

Alford has said he's not a hateful vigilante and that he would like to see immigration policy reformed. He has said that if the federal government allowed more immigrant workers to enter the country legally, many problems on the border would be solved. He reportedly scouted the New Mexico-Mexico border two weeks ago for sites to station his 42 volunteers to detect illegal immigrants sneaking into the country. His group plans to offer food, water and medical aid while reporting the illegal immigrants to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Mitchell said the ACLU was not trying to muzzle Alford. It is just a matter of not wanting him representing the ACLU in a leadership position. When Alford refused to resign, the state board decided over the weekend to temporarily suspend the 14-member southern board until new elections are held. Mitchell said the ACLU's rules do not provide a means for removing a single board member, so the entire board had to be suspended.

"We are not going to tolerate anyone depriving anyone of liberty without due process of law, not going to tolerate vigilante groups on the border without speaking out against them and without monitoring," Mitchell said.

Alford said the dust-up is the result of a lack of understanding about how the Border Watch group plans to operate. He said the ACLU didn't ask questions, "just attacked."

What a halfhearted attempt to placate the public outrage. He'll get away with it too.What does "we fail words" mean? How about, "I am sorry if". He treats this as if he did nothing wrong except choose his words poorly. In the tradition of the Senate, should he not be a crafty wordsmith? Is he too inept, too verbally unequipped to be speaking on the Senate floor? What is this guy's story?The truth is he is not the least bit sorry for what he said, he apologized for the reaction it evoked. And of course McCain condones it because it's one of his bullslinging buddies.These men are disgusting.

Dick Durbin went to the Senate floor late Tuesday to offer his apologies to anyone who may have been offended by his comparison of treatment of detainees at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Nazis, Soviet gulags and Cambodia's Pol Pot.

"More than most people, a senator lives by his words ... occasionally words fail us, occasionally we will fail words," Durbin, D-Ill., said.

"I am sorry if anything I said caused any offense or pain to those who have such bitter memories of the Holocaust, the greatest moral tragedy of our time. Nothing, nothing should ever be said to demean or diminish that moral tragedy.

"I am also sorry if anything I said cast a negative light on our fine men and women in the military ... I never ever intended any disrespect for them. Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line to them I extend my heartfelt apology," Durbin said, choking on his words.

Immediately after his remarks, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he thought Durbin made a "heartfelt statement" and he was satisfied with the apology.

"He did the right thing, the courageous thing and I think we can put the situation behind us," McCain said.

In a written statement, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Durbin's apology was "necessary and appropriate."

"Senator Durbin's apology was a necessary and appropriate step in repairing the harm his earlier remarks have had on the image of the millions of fine men and women serving in America's military. As members of Congress we must always be sensitive to the fact that it is their struggles and sacrifices that keep us safe in the War on Terror," he said.

Asked what the next step for Durbin would be, an aide to Frist told FOX News, "Well, when you say something that appears all over Al Jazeera, you have a lot of work to do."

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

What about our requests to prevent human trafficking? Now, all of a sudden, they're worried about the border. If I were Fox and the rest of his cronies, I'd be very worried about my people being armed. Can you say revolution? I knew you could!

MEXICO CITY - Mexico has requested the United States strengthen efforts to prevent arms trafficking on the U.S.-Mexico border, the president's office said on Monday.

The request was delivered Friday at a U.S.-Mexico working group on arms trafficking and follows recent complaints that Mexican organized crime groups have access to high-tech weaponry that could only come from the United States.

Mexican federal police and soldiers arrived in two border states this month to help control a surge in violence linked to drug trafficking groups.

"Both governments agree on the need to strengthen the mechanisms of coordination and exchange of information with the objective of improving the techniques for identifying, detecting and intercepting weapons," presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said.

Let's keep the pressure on. Durbin must not be allowed to get away with this just because he is part of the donks leadership. Message him at his site here.Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist yesterday demanded that Sen. Richard J. Durbin make a "formal apology" on the floor of the Senate for comparing U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay to Nazi and Soviet regimes and that he strike his remarks from the Congressional Record. In a letter to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Mr. Frist, Tennessee Republican, said previous bids by the Senate's No. 2 Democrat to clarify his remarks didn't go far enough. "Subsequent statements by Senator Durbin indicate only that he was regretful if people misunderstood his remarks," Mr. Frist said. "We do not believe his remarks were misunderstood."

Wait a minute, wasn't it just back in February that Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said, " “This is our airspace, we're a sovereign nation and you don't intrude on a sovereign nation's airspace without seeking permission.”?Of course, that was Canada complaining about our missle defense system. Now they want us to abdicate responsibility for our sovereign air space for their convenience.Also, don't miss the mention that the traitorous dogs of the ACLU are suing so they can make us more vulnerable to terrorism.

The government of Canada is fighting to keep Washington from having access to passenger lists for Canada's domestic flights. The Canadian transport minister Jean Lapierre said two-thirds of Canada's domestic flights at some point cross through American air space. The Minister said he may have to re-route them (around U.S. airspace) rather than breach the privacy rights of domestic Canadian passengers.

In plans which are not yet finalized, Washington recently warned Canada (and other countries) the U.S. intends to require that its no-fly list procedures apply to all foreign airlines which pass through U.S. airspace. After 9/11, a watch list of suspected terrorists was created by the U.S. that bars those on the list from air travel within its borders.

On Wednesday, Lapierre said it's a “very hot issue,” and that he’s working to protect the privacy of Canadians.

“I’m very worried about it. We don’t think it’s a good idea that Canadians travelling from one (Canadian) city to another would have to be checked under the American no-fly list.” Lapierre said. He estimates that nearly two-thirds of the 278,000 yearly flights between Canadian cities cross over the U.S. border. Most major flight zones from urban centers in Canada are in its southern portion, close to the U.S. where even winds might push a plane across the border.

If the matter can not be resolved, Lapierre said, “We would have to take a northern route, which would be much more expensive.” Yahoo! News Canada reports that Lapierre intends to lobby U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta against the changes.

Last year, the Canadian province of British Columbia put controls on firms that handle an individual's personal data that prevents them from sharing private information on Canadians with U.S. authorities. The issue goes to Canada's sovereignty of its citizens and the U.S. sovereignty of its airspace.

The historically close relations between Canada and the U.S. was evident during the recent Virgin Atlantic incident, where a flight was intercepted by 2 Canadian CF-18 jet fighters. They were scrambled from Quebec to escort the inter-continental flight originating from London to the Halifax International Airport after a hijacking signal, an apparent accident, was sent from the plane. The plane was detained in Halifax on Friday for approximately four hours. Ultimately it was cleared, and landed safely at its original destination in John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

Both the ACLU and the Electronic Privacy Information Center are involved in lawsuits against the U.S. government relating to no-fly lists. EPIC has received documents under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act which it says "establish that the TSA administers two lists: a "no-fly" list and a "selectee" list, which requires the passenger to go through additional security measures. The names are provided to air carriers through Security Directives or Emergency Amendments and are stored in their computer systems so that an individual with a name that matches the list can be flagged when getting a boarding pass. A "no-fly" match requires the agent to call a law enforcement officer to detain and question the passenger. In the case of a Selectee, an "S" or special mark is printed on their boarding pass and the person receives additional screening at security."

Monday, June 20, 2005

Why they are not going for the death penalty for these murderers is beyond me. Let's be realistic, who is going to pay the $750,000 fine? The taxpayers will wind up feeding and paying health care for this murdering trash and they'll have it better than they ever have before. This is insanity. Are we afraid of offending Fox? Has he said anything about the dead Americans and our loss of property?

This all happened within 20 miles of my house. I am sick and tired of coddling these lawbreakers and that slime bucket Fox who encourages it all. I want my country protected and I will not vote for nor contribute to any traitorous sob that refuses to sign up to make our borders secure.

PHOENIX - Four illegal immigrants charged with either smuggling people across the border or driving or acting as a "co-pilot" of a Ford F-350 truck involved in a fatal crash last year are scheduled to start their trial Aug. 30. The quartet was indicted by a federal grand jury in December based on information presented by federal prosecutors from the Oct. 16 accident that took the lives of two elderly Huachuca City residents and three illegal immigrants.

"As it now stands, it will be a joint trial," meaning all four defendants will be tried together, said Patrick Schneider, spokesman for the office of the U.S. Attorney. The case will be held in the courtroom of Judge Raner Collins of the U.S. District Court in Tucson .

There are no changes to the charges made in December, and the death penalty will not be sought against two men, Schneider said. Jimir Valle Martinez, of Honduras and Carlos Cortez, of Mexico, faced the death penalty. They are charged with conspiracy to bring in illegal aliens for profit, conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit and transporting illegal aliens resulting in death. The final charge could have led to the death penalty for them.

If found guilty of all three charges, the maximum penalty is now life in prison and a $750,000 fine. Valle allegedly was the driver of the stolen truck. Cortez allegedly was his "co-pilot," according to federal reports.

Two other illegal immigrants from Mexico - Jose Luis Zepeda-Cruz and Wilbert Garcia - will stand trial on charges of conspiracy to bring in illegal aliens for profit, conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit and bringing in illegal aliens for profit.

If convicted on all three charges, they face a maximum prison sentence of 60 years and $750,000 in fines.

At the time of their indictments, Valle was 21, Cortez was 29, Zepeda-Cruz was 24 and Garcia was 20. All four are being held without bond.

The wreck occurred on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The driver of the Ford pickup was initially pursued by a Cochise County sheriff's deputy after the vehicle failed to stop before turning on to a state highway south of Sierra Vista.

The driver of the stolen vehicle continued to speed, even though the pursuit ended. The truck was carrying illegal immigrants. The driver reportedly then went through red lights and failed to yield to traffic. At one point, a sheriff's deputy placed tire spikes on a roadway, but removed them from the road before the Ford arrived.

The truck eventually entered the intersection of Highway 90 and the bypass near Fort Huachuca's East Gate. The driver then lost control, careening into a number of vehicles stopped at the intersection.

An after-accident report by the Arizona Department of Public Safety stated a tire deflation device was put out on the northbound portion of Highway 90.

As the vehicle approached the intersection, the driver initially steered right but then made a hard left, causing the vehicle to rotate counter-clockwise, the report states. There were no indications the driver went over the spikes, DPS officials have said.

The truck was going more than 90 mph when it went airborne, causing it to hit nine vehicles in the southbound turn lane, the report states.

Many of the vehicles in the turn lane suffered major damage.

Huachuca City residents James Lee and Emilia Guthrie Lee, both in their 70s and who had been married for about six weeks, were in a truck stopped at the light. Their vehicle was badly crushed, and they died at the scene.

I encourage everyone to bury this worthless mouthpiece in messages.Click here.

Here's mine, "Make America better,resign today."

Doesn't this guy realize he represents all his constituents not just the lunatic left?

Hours after Sen. Dick Durbin issued his so-called "apology" for comparing U.S. troops to "Nazis," the Illinois Democrat turned defiant over the blunder - declaring flat out that he has nothing whatsoever to apologize for.

"It's not that my remarks were wrong or that there's any need for apology," Durbin told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday. "It's the fact that [my critics] have successfully twisted them out of context."

Durbin blamed conservatives for his troubles, saying that he refused to be "intimidated by the right-wing message machine." "If I'm going to back off every time they decide they're unhappy with my statements, then I really won't be doing my job." Durbin vowed to pursue his investigation into Nazi-like abuses perpetrated by U.S. troops, telling the paper: "We're going to continue to follow this [and] demand that the administration be held accountable."From NewsMax.

Mad billionaire Soros continues his efforts to rule the world. Speaking of being hungry for power, do I hear strains of George Soros Uber Alles playing in the backround.

George Soros, according to the Washington Post, called defeating President Bush "the central focus of my life" and a "matter of life and death." According to the Post, he has said, "America, under Bush, is a danger to the world" and believes a "supremist ideology" guides the White House. He has likened Mr. Bush's views to the Germans in World War II, according to the same Post story, and he spent millions trying to defeat Mr. Bush in the latest election. So what does one figure the Republican leadership in the Congress is going to make of the fact that the no. 2 officer at the United Nations, Mark Malloch Brown, whose current annual net salary as an undersecretary general is $125,000 a year, has emerged as the tenant in a house that Mr. Soros owns and that rents for $120,000 a year?

This insight into the cozy arrangement between Kofi Annan's camarilla and Mr. Bush's angriest political enemy was provided by our Benny Avni in his dispatch on Friday. He reports that both sides say the house, cheek by jowl with Mr. Soros's own residence, is being rented at market rate. He quotes a spokesman for the United Nations Development Program as saying that Mr. Malloch Brown is covering the rent from his savings. He notes that Messrs. Soros and Malloch Brown are good friends. Both the Soros camp and Mr. Malloch Brown's defenders insisted to our Mr. Avni that the living arrangement was set up as a "commercial transaction," rather than a gift.

If that's the case, Mr. Malloch Brown, who is probably the United Nations' most promising official, might want to provide some cancelled rent checks to the House Committee on International Relations, just for safekeeping. And probably get a copy to the Senate as well. Over the weekend, the online London Sunday Times quoted Mr. Malloch Brown as saying that although American right-wingers might disapprove of his association with Mr. Soros, "I hope in America you are still allowed to choose your own friends." Well, in America, yes. But on U.N. soil, we'll see. The London Sunday Times also quoted Mr. Malloch Brown as saying the atmosphere at the United Nations has become "entirely like revolutionary France, where the level of backstabbing and betrayal would make Shakespeare wince."

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said Sunday he intends to run for president in 2008.Biden entered the 1988 presidential race, but quit in September 1987 amid controversy. He was found to have plagiarized a speech from a British Labour party leader, and then was found to have also engaged in plagiarism in law school.

Biden said he was taking his "game on the road, letting people know what I think."

Really, Joe? Or will you be letting us know what other people think but be taking credit for it?Doesn't Biden have any grasp of reality? The dems are a constant source of entertainment.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

It is highly doubtful that the state GOP will do anything but its nice to see this happening at least at the grassroots level.

The Arizona Republican Assembly (ARA) voted unanimously during its annual state convention to censure Arizona’s senior senator.The censure measure will be sent to Matt Salmon, chairman of the Arizona GOP -- with hopes of a state party censure as well -- to all Republican county and legislative district chairmen and will be issued as a press release to the media. No one spoke in support of McCain during discussion of the resolution.

The resolution reads as follows:

WHEREAS, Senator John McCain is presently co-sponsoring, together with his Democrat soul-mate, Senator Teddy Kennedy, a Bill to Reform the Immigration Policy of the United States promoting amnesty for illegal aliens and for their U.S. employers, thus ignoring the opinions of his constituents expressed in numerous polls and personal pleas; and

WHEREAS, Senator McCain deserted the ranks of the Republican Party and the Leadership of the U.S. Senate on the issue of limiting the filibuster of judicial nominations, some of which have been on-hold for several years, thus stalling the President’s agenda for judicial reform; and

WHEREAS, Senator McCain led the Democrat Party in “reforming” campaign finance, providing for a clear usurpation of 1st Amendment free speech rights during the last 60 days of an election campaign, and leading to an orgy of spending in the 2004 elections;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Arizona Republican Assembly (ARA) officially and publicly censures Senator John McCain for dereliction of his duties and responsibilities as a representative of the citizens of Arizona; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the ARA strongly urges State Republican Party Chairman, Matt Salmon, the Arizona State Republican Party and its County and Legislative District affiliates to officially and publicly express their displeasure with Senator McCain by means of a public censure; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that copies of this Resolution be sent to the Chairman of the State Republican Party, to all Republican County and Legislative District Chairman and be issued as a Press Release to the media.

What a group, Conyers, Waters and Barney Franks. It isn't hard to imagine anything when you have the likes of these three involved. When you want to find people out of step with mainstream reality you can stop the search at this trio. Still, it's nice to get a peek into their delusions. I wonder when the voices in Conyers' head will schedule the next meeting.They may as well just pad the basement and issue "I love myself" jackets to these inmates in training.And who's this guy McGovern that sounds like an old friend of Senator "Sheets" Byrd? I wonder if he has relatives in Argentina.I remember, he's the crazy ex CIA guy connected to a bunch of left wing groups and fellow nutcases.

In the Capitol basement yesterday, long-suffering House Democrats took a trip to the land of make-believe.

They pretended a small conference room was the Judiciary Committee hearing room, draping white linens over folding tables to make them look like witness tables and bringing in cardboard name tags and extra flags to make the whole thing look official.

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) banged a large wooden gavel and got the other lawmakers to call him "Mr. Chairman." He liked that so much that he started calling himself "the chairman" and spouted other chairmanly phrases, such as "unanimous consent" and "without objection so ordered." The dress-up game looked realistic enough on C-SPAN, so two dozen more Democrats came downstairs to play along.

The session was a mock impeachment inquiry over the Iraq war. As luck would have it, all four of the witnesses agreed that President Bush lied to the nation and was guilty of high crimes -- and that a British memo on "fixed" intelligence that surfaced last month was the smoking gun equivalent to the Watergate tapes. Conyers was having so much fun that he ignored aides' entreaties to end the session.

"At the next hearing," he told his colleagues, "we could use a little subpoena power." That brought the house down.

As Conyers and his hearty band of playmates know, subpoena power and other perks of a real committee are but a fantasy unless Democrats can regain the majority in the House. But that's only one of the obstacles they're up against as they try to convince America that the "Downing Street Memo" is important.

A search of the congressional record yesterday found that of the 535 members of Congress, only one -- Conyers -- had mentioned the memo on the floor of either chamber. House Democratic leaders did not join in Conyers's session, and Senate Democrats, who have the power to hold such events in real committee rooms, have not troubled themselves.

No matter: The lawmakers and the witnesses saw this as a chance to rally against the war. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) proclaimed it "one of the biggest scandals in the history of this country." Conyers said the memos "establish a prima facie case of going to war under false pretenses." Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) concluded that "the time has come to get out" of Iraq.

The session took an awkward turn when witness Ray McGovern, a former intelligence analyst, declared that the United States went to war in Iraq for oil, Israel and military bases craved by administration "neocons" so "the United States and Israel could dominate that part of the world." He said that Israel should not be considered an ally and that Bush was doing the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"Israel is not allowed to be brought up in polite conversation," McGovern said. "The last time I did this, the previous director of Central Intelligence called me anti-Semitic."

Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), who prompted the question by wondering whether the true war motive was Iraq's threat to Israel, thanked McGovern for his "candid answer."

Vermont Senator Pat "Leaky" Leahy tried to spin his way out of the Democrats' Nazi-gate scandal yesterday by saying his colleague was misquoted in the Wall Street Journal.

Asked whether he objected to Durbin's characterization of GI's as "Nazis," Leahy told WVMT Vermont's "Charlie & Ernie" radio show, "First of all, with Sen. Durbin, I'd be very careful about taking quotes off the Wall Street Journal editorial page." "They are notorious for taking quotes totally out of context," he added, "even making them up."

Durbin's quotes, however, didn't appear in the Wall Street Journal, but were instead first covered by its sister web site, OpinionJournal.com, which obtained the incendiary remarks from actual Senate audio broadcast by radio hosts Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Unfazed by his error, Leahy blasted the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq, suggesting that the U.S. had done just as much damage to Iraq as Saddam Hussein.

Reminded of the Iraqi lives that have been saved since Saddam's fall, Leahy shot back - "We could also think of the tens of thousands of Iraqi lives that have been lost since the fall of Hussein."Thanks to NewsMax.

Leahy needs to be gone along with Durbin. Its time we purged the Senate of these rats. I sent the following message to Leahy.

Dick Durbin needs to resign for his defamation of the United States and its military.Your bumbling defense of his treachery and your attack upon our war efforts on the radio indicates you also need to resign. You are both unfit to lead and an embarassment to the proud history of our nation.Send your message to Leahy here.

Please contact your senators and support the Gingrich proposal. Do not allow Durbin to get away with his malicious speech. Keep the pressure on the Senate and the spotlight on this Judas.

In a letter sent to United States Senators on Saturday, June 18, 2005, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on the Senate to censure Senator Richard Durbin for his speech comparing U.S. servicemen serving in Guantanamo Bay to those of the Nazi Gestapo, Soviet KGB, and Pol Pot’s killers in Cambodia."Senator Richard Durbin has dishonored the United States and the entire U.S. Senate. Only by a vote to censure Senator Durbin for his conduct can the U.S. Senate restore its dignity and defend American honor," Gingrich wrote.He added, "It’s one thing for one Senator to endanger young Americans and defame America; it would be the shame of the Senate if the other 99 Senators did not stand up to defend America and to defend the reputation of our young men and women in uniform."Gingrich called Senator Durbin’s comparison "despicable.""By voting for or against the censure, the rest of the members of the U.S. Senate can go on record and make clear how they judge Durbin’s characterization of American soldiers." Gingrich continued, "It will also send a clear message to terrorists who will use the words of a Senate leader against us that the Senate stands in support of America and our military and against those who seek to destroy the free people of the United States." Gingrich also wrote that a censure would be "justified" and that there is "historic precedent for censuring Senators whose words bring dishonor and disrepute on the Senate and impair its dignity; Senator Durbin’s words fit that precedent." Gingrich concludes the letter by calling on the Senate to act. "In this case, expressing outrage is not enough. It is time for the Senate to act. Senator Durbin must be censured now."From NewsMax.

Here's some good news for a change. On Wednesday I posted this storyit's nice to see it had a happy ending.

New Orleans Police Chief Eddie Compass reversed his decision to hire Captain Dennis Muhammad of the Nation of Islam to conduct sensitivity training for his police officers. Muhammad is a top aide to Louis Farrakhan and affiliated with a group that has a history of controversy. Farrakhan has made anti-White and anti-Semitic statements for many years and has denounced this country while praising dictators in foreign countries. One of his chief lieutenants made some of the vilest and offensive comments ever made about the leader of the Catholic Church. After our reporting of the situation yesterday in Bayoubuzz.com, our column was picked up by the national news site, The Drudge Report. Soon thereafter, the Catholic League discovered what was happening and the President of that organization, William Donohue, fired off a letter to all members of the New Orleans City Council urgin! g that the city not affiliate with anyone tied to the Nation of Islam. Scores of police officers and Jewish leaders also registered strong complaints. Luckily, Compass cancelled the contract with Muhammad and will seek sensitivity training from other sources. He made a mistake and was mature enough to realize his error and take action.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

The government and its contractors are playing games with our money and our security. I don't know what the present penalty is for this kind of fraud but it should be made a capital crime. Ripping off the country while making us think we are protected is an unforgivable offense.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A $250 million program to put remote video surveillance cameras along parts of the United States' northern and southern borders was grossly and possibly criminally mismanaged, a House subcommittee heard on Thursday.

Joel Gallay, deputy inspector general of the U.S. General Services Administration, told a subcommittee of the House of Representatives committee on homeland security that the contract was never subject to open competition as required by federal regulations, was badly run, inadequately supervised and shoddily implemented.

He said his office had opened a criminal investigation with the cooperation of the FBI, but declined to give further details in public session.

The initial $2 million contract, which eventually ballooned to $257 million, was awarded in 1999 to a company called International Microwave Corp. which was later acquired by L-3 Communications Government Services Inc.

Its president, Joseph Saponaro, denied many of Galley's accusations and said the system was operational at 246 sites and the government got value for its money.

But Galley said he stood by his report.

"The remote video surveillance effort was in many respects a major project gone awry. A principal reason was the failure to follow basics: to adhere to proper procurement rules and practices; to ensure there was adequate planning, selection of an appropriate contracting approach and open competition," Galley testified.

Republicans and Democrats on the committee criticized the failure of the Department of Homeland Security to send a representative to testify at the hearing.

"We have a very glaring empty space, an empty chair, and that is the Department of Homeland Security," said Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, a Texas Democrat.

AMERICA'S SHIELD INITIATIVE

The hearing came as the Department of Homeland Security embarks on a much more ambitious project called America's Shield Initiative to place remote video surveillance cameras, intelligent computer-aided dispatch systems; seismic, magnetic and infrared sensors and other types of equipment along the entire length of the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said: "This particular hearing goes back to the era before the creation of the department and focused on a system we inherited which was not well managed or integrated with other systems.

"That technology is being replaced with the America's Shield Initiative and we look forward to updating Congress on the ASI in the future."

The aim of the new project is to help border patrol agents intercept illegal immigrants streaming across the border, hinder drug smugglers and protect the country against the possible incursion of terrorists.

A Senate appropriations subcommittee this week approved $51 million for the first stage of that project, which could eventually cost $2.5 billion.

The earlier system, even if it had been fully deployed, would only have covered 4 percent of the border.

Galley said that when GSA inspectors visited eight sites last summer, none were fully operational. At some, no equipment had been installed. At others, the equipment did not work.

At one site in Naco, Arizona, inspectors found parts laying on the desert floor. Other components, paid for by the government, languished in warehouses.

Galley also said that in several instances the contractor billed for sophisticated and expensive thermal imaging cameras but actually delivered cheaper, less capable systems.

Republicans and Democrats on the committee called the affair a blow to U.S. national security as well as an affront to taxpayers.